


Cards on the Table

by RecordRewind



Category: Venom (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fix-It of Sorts, Other, POV Alternating, People having a lot of conversations into their minds, eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-10 12:58:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15292035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RecordRewind/pseuds/RecordRewind
Summary: “You are a wanted man, Brock. Why were you following me?”Eddie looked at Flash, his mouth set in a tight line, for a few seconds. Finally, he seemed to make up his mind. “We need your help.”The emphasis on 'we' wouldn't have been necessary.EDIT: added an epilogue: another conversation, late at night.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is set around the beginning of Venom Inc. Crucially, Andrea hasn't been attacked by Price's minions yet, and Flash has been in New York searching for the Symbiote.

Flash Thompson was being followed.

He had noticed it not even a block away from the Alchemax building. That place had become like a magnetic pole for the compass needle that kept on twisting into his gut, but it was yet to see if that happened because of some kind of symbiote-related research they were conducting, or because of a genuine connection to his partner, and he figured he needed more informations before trying to break into the place.

Now, as he walked through the afternoon crowd, a few snowflakes carried by the wind hitting his face, and a constant itch in the back of his head telling him to turn around and confront his pursuer, he thought it a safe bet to say he had finally found a lead. Or to be more precise, it had found him.

He entered a narrow alley, walking until the sounds from the street started to wane, then he stopped. The footsteps behind him halted too. He took a deep breath, then he turned around.

“Eddie Brock,” he said.

The man standing a few feet away raised his chin.

“Thompson,” he replied, coldly. “We meet again.”

“You are a wanted man, Brock. Why were you following me?”

“Not because I wanted to, that's for sure,” Brock scoffed. Flash took a couple of steps forward, careful, ready for any reaction. Coming closer he could see Eddie seemed to be in rough conditions, even in the shadow of the alley. His jacket was worn out, his stance tense, and though his gaze was defiant, Flash could see tired marks under his eyes.

“Then why?”

Eddie looked at him, his mouth set in a tight line, for a few seconds. Finally, he seemed to make up his mind. “ _We_ need your help.”

The emphasis on 'we' wouldn't have been necessary. Flash felt himself tense up.

“What do you mean?”

Eddie glanced around. “I'd rather talk somewhere more private.”

“Where? Your house?”

“Not a chance, as you said I am a wanted man,” he walked past Flash, towards the other end of the alley. “Follow me.”

They walked through two other blocks, avoiding the more crowded streets. Flash trailed a few steps behind. He watched the other man's back, looked through him, as if he could see the silhouette of the other being hiding within him, if he peered hard enough. But he watched Eddie too, and confirmed his suspicions. The man was exhausted. Flash wondered how Venom was. He wondered what they had done to each other already.

Eddie stepped into another, even narrower alleyway, and stopped in front of the service door to a closed diner that faced the main road. He removed the propped up bar that kept the unlocked door shut, and opened it.

“So as a first thing we trespass? You set on having the law after me too?”

Eddie rolled his eyes, not even deigning to answer him. He entered and Flash followed quickly, pulling the door closed behind his back. He could already hear Andi's voice resonating into his mind in disbelief. _'And you walked right into the trap just like that?! Come on, coach!'_ Oh well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The diner had been abandoned for quite a while, and everything in it was covered under a thick veil of dust The windows were boarded, except in a few places were the wooden planks were broken, and from these the light of the winter afternoon sun came in, adding to the general spectral atmosphere instead of diminishing it.

Eddie sat down in a dusty booth.

“Cozy,” Flash remarked, sitting down in front of him. “When does the ghost waiter come to ask for our order?”

“Wouldn't recommend the coffee.” Eddie shrugged. “It makes a good place for a stake out.”

“That's what the two of you do now? Keep watch and catch criminals?”

“Still didn't manage to get as many front pages as your friend, the Spider.”

“Competition is hard.” Flash sighed. “Alright. Why are we here, Brock? What do you need my help for?”

Again, Eddie went quiet, as if debating with himself. Or... Flash watched for the signs of an inner conversation taking place, but that didn't seem the case. With sudden concern he wondered if the Symbiote was sedated.

“The Symbiote is sick,” Eddie said, finally.

“What do you mean?”

“As it has been explained to me, it appears that my body has become a toxic environment for it.” Eddie avoided Flash's gaze, as he spoke. His voice was calm, but his fists were balled up, resting on the table. “It is decaying, slowly but surely, it is literally falling apart. We have been provided with a chemical treatment, a serum, that can slow down the process, but it has been losing effectiveness, and the new one that is being developed is still too dangerous. It might even kill it. I won't risk it.”

“So that's why you were hanging around Alchemax, someone there is giving you access to this treatment?” _In exchange for what,_ Flash wondered, but he momentarily put the thought aside. Right now he was way more worried about their conditions.

“Yes. And that's not all. Beside the physical decay, this illness is also damaging its mind. It is becoming angrier, more and more violent. This is not just because of the illness. What has happened to it before we were reunited...”

Flash's eyes hardened. “Lee Price.”

Eddie nodded.

“I have read the reports. I don't know the details, but I know he hurt Venom...” Flash's voice trailed off.

It made him furious. After all they went through, together, after Venom had managed to cleanse itself of its old corruption, to become better. He could imagine all too well what being bonded to a ruthless host, someone who would take advantage of its worst tendencies, would have done to it.

“I don't know the details either.” Eddie glanced at him, then he looked away again, his voice tense. “It... won't show me.”

Flash blinked, in surprise.

“I can feel the shape of those memories, their jagged edges, and the wounds they left in my other's mind, and I _know_ it still hurts because of them. But whenever I ask it to let me understand more, whenever I reach to those places... it pulls back. It hides, or shuts me away. And when we are Venom it is becoming harder and harder to rein our anger in. We want to help this city, but we can't risk killing people.”

“You can't control it.”

Eddie looked at him, suddenly angered. “This is  _not_ about control, not anymore. It should have never been. We aren't trying to control each other anymore, we--” He shut his mouth and closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. “Whatever we are attempting to do, it isn't working. This is becoming unsustainable. And... there is one more thing.”

“What?”

“My other misses you.”

Flash opened his mouth, then closed it, again taken by surprise at the admission. He watched Eddie's eyes move to the side, his expression turn from angered to sad. “I know you do...” he whispered, and this time Flash knew he wasn't talking to him.

Eddie looked at him again. “My other won't show me much about you either, but I can feel how important you were, how meaningful what the two of you had was to it. Venom was a real hero, with you. You saved people... even me.” He shook his head. "Why haven't you come looking for it sooner?" He asked, sounding angry again, pained even.

"I _have_ tried," Flash said defensively. "I could still feel a residue of our bond... After I lost it I have been combing this city to find it again. Then after Price was apprehended, I was informed it was with you again. I didn't stop my search, you saw it, I was never going to stop, but in all honesty I thought it was... where it wanted to be."

"Did it a whole world of good," Eddie said bitterly. "Look, Thompson, I don't _want_ to give up on what we have. But there's too much at stake if we can't win this fight. We've been there already, you know it, we have done terrible things. I... am not the right person and I can't lie to myself, to ourselves, anymore. This is why we are here now. Why I am here" He spoke with urgency. "I need to know if you can be the one who will look after it, who will make it well again."

Flash leaned back against the chair, taken aback, slowly taking it what was being asked of him.

Seeing Brock talk to him in such clear distress wasn't something he had anticipated, at all And as much as his gut screamed for him to just tell the man to give the Symbiote back, so he could make sure it would be fine... he felt it could not be that easy.

"Let me speak with it," he said instead. "We have been talking about what it wants and doesn't want, but I need to hear what it has to say for itself." Flash looked at Eddie, looked past him. "You hear me, buddy? I need to see you."

Silence stretched, as Flash stared intently at the other man. Eddie looked up to the dark ceiling, then he closed his eyes. "Love, please..." he said softly. He extended his hand, palm up, and let it hang between them.

The two men waited, sitting at a table in a deserted diner, for the Symbiote to give them a sign. Flash could see Eddie didn't want to force it to do something it didn't want, but this wasn't going anywhere.

"Alright. Let me..." Flash reached out and placed his palm on Eddie's, pressing his hand down on the table. Eddie startled, but he didn't pull back. Flash focused on what was left of his bond to the Symbiote, on the signs, the battle scars, it had left in his mind.

"Hey, can you hear me? Please, we really need to talk. Like when you wanted to talk after the fight on the lava planet. You gave me quite a scare that time, remember?" He chuckled. "We got a lots of scares and close calls, while we were having adventures in space. But we overcame all of them, in the end, even the worst... and we even had some pretty good times, didn't we?" Flash's smile turned almost nostalgic. "Sometimes I miss that. Being an actual space warrior. And I miss our friends up there. But I am much happier here on Earth. Aren't you?"

The Klyntar had been a part of him for such a long time, losing it had hurt like losing a piece of his soul. But what had been even more painful was thinking he had lost its trust, its friendship. If it really wanted to come back to him...

"Eddie tells me there's something wrong, and I need you to trust me and tell me about it so we can fix it. Come on, partner."

He fell silent. The low rumble of car engines coming from the outside were the only sounds they heard for a minute.

Then Flash saw the small change in Eddie's expression, and the next moment tendrils the color of ink, not quite liquid, extended from under the rim of his jacket's sleeve. They dripped down over the table, then crawled up on their hands and started curling around, insinuating between their fingers. Flash lifted his free hand and picked a tendril between thumb and finger, pulling it, and more thin tentacles joined it, climbing up and down his forearm. He looked at the tentacles tying into bracelets around his arm, the pitch black mass pooling into his palm, growing bigger, until white slits appeared and widened into pupilless, reverse Rorschach inkblots eyes. They focused on him, and the symbiote opened its mouth to let out a soft, high-pitched screech.

Flash's smile brightened, and he brought the Symbiote's head close enough they could bump their foreheads together. "There you are, buddy," he said fondly.

 

\--

 

Eddie watched his other come to Thompson's call, and felt a pang of jealousy. He tried to suppress the emotion. He had very little time to prepare himself for this, but whole weeks wouldn't have been enough anyway.

For days now he had felt the Symbiote's distress only grow worse, and he had seen it try to hide it, for the sake of being with him, only to make it harder and harder not to lose themselves to bloodlust. It couldn't go on like that. When, after their last talk with Steven, the Symbiote had sensed Thompson's presence at Alchemax, alerting him too, Eddie had seen the path laid clearly in front of him. And it had taken all of his willpower not to turn and run away from it. He had followed Thompson, feeling his other grow nervous, and yet make no objections, even if until that moment even the vaguest threat to be separated had made it immediately react with fear, fury, even misplaced aggression. That felt like a confirmation he was doing the right thing.

He wanted to be with his other so much, but not at the price of seeing it turn into a monster again, not at the price of possibly seeing themselves at each other's throat, hurting each other again like they did in the past. He would have died before he let that happen.

He would have died before he let the Symbiote be hurt again. And giving up to it... felt like dying.

"There you are, buddy," Flash said, with so much kindness and affection into his voice. His other hadn't shown Eddie much of any of its previous hosts, but where the bad ones had left gashes and dents in its mind, places where it still burned, the traces left by Flash were soft and soothing, and the only way they hurt the Symbiote was with longing.

Sometimes Eddie wondered if the reason his other kept those memories sealed away was so they wouldn't be marred by him. Such a thought would immediately elicit a response from the Symbiote, eagerly assuring him that wasn't the truth, and Eddie really wanted to believe it, he really did... but the doubt remained.

If the Symbiote really wanted to go back to its previous host... to its one _good_ host... Eddie wouldn't have forced it to stay.

"Looking good and shiny, I see," Flash added, jokingly, then he grew serious again. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, partner, but I am now. Please tell me what's wrong, or show me, so I can help."

The Symbiote opened its maw wide, fangs shining wickedly and spit dripping on the table, and without a sound it took the whole of Flash's head inside it, immediately losing shape and reforming again around him. Its eyes, and its mouth, shaped up on the back of Flash's head.

Eddie felt their bond stretching thin, and he felt... echoes. Shadows on the wall, of what the Symbiote was communicating to Flash. It was showing its old host all it had kept hidden until now, Eddie realized... It was showing it to Flash, and not to him. He swallowed, feeling his chest ache. For a moment he wished he could just stand up and leave the diner, leave them there together, as they were clearly meant to be. But Flash was still holding his hand down, and even as it was now mentally united to Flash his other was holding onto him too, to his body and to his mind. They were still bonded.

And anyway, he wasn't going to leave the Symbiote before making one hundred percent sure it was in the right hands. He had more to discuss with Thompson. A lifetime ago, full of anger and resentment he had swore to kill him, _them_ , if Thompson hadn't been able to control the Symbiote. Now he knew the soldier was a way better man than he could ever be, and he knew he would fight the whole world to protect the Symbiote. No threats left to make. But he would have Flash promise to take care of it, for Thompson was someone who kept his word. Unlike him.

So he sat there, waiting, and feeling awkward.l

Eventually the Symbiote unwrapped from Flash's head, and the man took a long breath. He seemed shaken, and Eddie felt suddenly concerned for him too.

"Are you ok?" he asked, and formed the same question into his mind, nervously waiting for his other to reply, either with words or sensations.

He felt calm radiating from the bond, the anxiousness that had latched onto it since he made clear that they had to meet Thompson had dissolved now. He breathed out, at least a little reassured.

"I'm fine,” Flash said. “But like you said, Venom is ill."

Eddie pulled his hand from under Flash's, and placed it palm down on the table. The Symbiote's body shifted back, its mass coming to rest over their hands. Its head formed again and it started to look back and forth between the two men. Eddie fought the urge to reach and stroke it.

"Has it shown you what has happened?"

"Yes" Flash exhaled slowly, then he grimaced. "What it went through with Price has made it fall back hard, old patterns of thought, old fears, and this mental stress reflects on you too, of course. Add to this the physical strain of your bodies battling against each other...” Flash shook his head again. “...I can see that the situation doesn't look great, but--”

“It's like I thought,” Eddie interrupted him. He looked at the Symbiote, who stared back wide-eyed, obviously anguished. "You aren't _safe_ with me..." He scooped the Symbiote's up into his hands, so he could look into its eyes. Looking at it from the outside instead of reaching through their bond, as if to distance himself already. “You need to leave me, before it's too late. Please, understand.”

 _Please, understand_ , he thought to himself, gritting his teeth.

Flash watched them intently, pondering something.

"Alright,” he exclaimed. “It is pretty clear what is the right thing to do." The Symbiote turned to look at him, and Eddie noticed that its tentacles were still holding onto Flash's arms. They were fused to his skin. With a half-smile on his face Flash leaned back against the booth, crossing his arms, the black tendrils drawing dark lines on them.

"Give Venom back to me, Brock."

 


	2. Chapter 2

Communicating with the Symbiote without being properly bonded felt weird. It was like he had to almost physically push his thoughts through thick mud, in order to reach it, following the lead of a feeble light. It was different the other way round, being on the receiving end: as soon as the Symbiote had enveloped his head, his brain had literally been assaulted by images, as it tried to show him  _ everything _ at the same time, leaving him dizzy and gasping for breath. 

Apologies, broken explanations, memories of people and conversations crowded into his mind... He saw flashes of what Venom had done in the past weeks, heard fragments of what Liz and the scientist named Steven had told Eddie about the sickness. Somehow the fragments pieced together to give him the whole picture. He could  _ taste  _ the undercurrent of frenzy that tinged almost everything, an acid sensation that reminded him of the worst moments in their union.

And surrounding it all he felt a steady, tenacious awareness, the one crystal clear emotion, a lifeline.

_**there's no me** _

_**there's no him** _

_**there's only us** _

And right beside that...

_**please help us** _

And the only thing Flash could think in response.

_I got you, partner._

"You aren't _safe_ with me..." Eddie was saying, his voice not quite breaking with emotion but close. “You need to leave me, before it's too late. Please, understand.”

Flash knew how he and the Symbiote had hurt each other, he knew the hate, he knew the pain. He now knew much more, and he made his call.

He pushed the thought through the mud until it reached his friend.

_ Trust me _ .

The Symbiote turned to him, and Flash saw that it had understood. So he put his best poker face on.

"Give it back to me, Brock."

Eddie looked at him, making a visible effort to control himself.

"Isn't this the reason you looked for me in the first place?” Flash went on. “Time to cut to the chase."

"Will you take good care of it?"

"You know I will. As I have in the past."

"See?" Eddie spoke again to the Symbiote. "You will be safe with Flash. You will be a hero again. Isn't this what you want?"

_Isn't him who you want?_

Eddie's thought, distant, pained, crossed Flash's mind like an overheard conversation. There was so much latched to it... regrets, hopes... love, simple as that. Flash's forced smile almost faltered.

_Isn't him who you choose?_

The Symbiote replied, its tendrils reaching up to hold onto Eddie's face and neck, caressing his skin. They both closed their eyes, and this time Flash had to pull back from the mental connection, feeling like an intruder who had stumbled upon an intimate moment.

He waited for their exchange to finish, watching Eddie's expression slowly shift from shock to relief to determination.

"So?" he prompted.

Eddie's eyes as he looked at him again were were filled with a renewed, fierce determination. A smile, a sincere one this time, started to form on Flash's lips, for he knew what Eddie's answer would be.

 

\--

 

_Isn't he who you choose?_

The Symbiote reached to him, to his mind, and this time Eddie welcomed it, embraced it, for it might have been his last chance to do so. He closed his eyes.

It felt as if time had slowed down.

Into the shared space of their memory, Eddie opened his eyes.

He looked at the light cast through stained glass as they stood inside their church again. He felt the wind as they crouched like a gargoyle on a roof, watching over the streets. He smelled the sewers they had hidden into. He listened to the sound of an old television in their ragged apartment.

_**i made my choice** _

They were in the FBI building, after the Symbiote had been separated from Price. After Eddie had knocked out the guard and came to it. Looking at the scene as if they were invisible spectators. The glass container was reduced to shards, some on the ground, some frozen in time in mid-air. Inside, the Symbiote's body stirred, tendrils already reaching towards the man in recognition.

Eddie had wanted so much to find the Symbiote again so that he could _make things right_ , for both of them. He had hoped his other would give him a chance, and that was as far as he had allowed himself to hope.

The intensity of the Symbiote's response, in that moment, had left him speechless.

_**i didn't want any other choice** _ the Symbiote told him, as they watched its tendrils wrap around his hand, flow up and around to envelope his arm, his chest...

_...because this is  _ who _ we are... _

_**i have been struggling so hard not to be bad again, and i didn't want you to doubt me, that's why i didn't show what I did before... what I wasn't able to do to stop Price... i didn't want you to hate me...** _

_But I could never do that! Don't you believe me?_

_**i do... but i still couldn't stop... being scared of what could happen...** _

Just like Eddie had been scared his other would eventually feel he wasn't enough. Strong enough to give it the stability it needed,  _ good _ enough... even if the Symbiote had made it clear time and time again how much it trusted him...

The Symbiote's body stretched over the man's. Jet black and smooth, and then bone white, over their chest and around his face, their maw closing tight, gritting their fangs.

_...We need to believe in ourselves a little more..._

Venom, now fully formed, stood up in the room in their mind. They looked at their powerful hands, at the wicked claws. Venom opened his mouth wide and  _ roared _ .

They had been broken to pieces and then they were whole again. And they both could still see the cracks, so many of them. But they would pull themselves together. They would _fight_ and they would mend themselves.

Eddie's eyes opened slowly. He came back, from the depth of their mind, to the here and now and to Flash still watching him, waiting. But now, the answer was clear.

"I can't give the Symbiote to you, it is not mine to give,” he said, a corner of his mouth hinted up. “We can't give up on Venom. We can't give up on who we are."

Flash rolled his eyes. "Go figure."

_ For being one and spending all the time talking into each other's mind, the two of you are a disaster at communicating. _

Eddie blinked in surprise at the softly intruding thought, and then, looking at Flash's amused smile he realized what was happening. Through the Symbiote... he and Flash were somehow connected.

_ You asked if it wouldn't choose me, but I assure you... what me and my partner had... and what the two of you have... is quite different. _

Memories and sensations flowed freely through their minds, letting Eddie see. Flash and the Symbiote had battled, against their foes and against each other, they had overcome pain and betrayals and forged a bond of their own. Something that would survive the breaking of a connection between host and symbiote.

_And you, instead..._

The Symbiote's tentacles detached from Flash's body, brushing gently his skin as they crept away, and he curled his fingers to hold onto them a second more, then he let them go. he Symbiote took a smaller, narrower shape, crawling and wrapping itself around Eddie like a snake. Its head nuzzled Eddie's cheek, and the man reached up to caress it.

“You are on a different level,” Flash finished the thought aloud, grinning. Eddie found himself grinning back at him.

"Has it told you?” Flash went on. “It didn't want to show you what it had gone through with Price, because it was scared that seeing how much it was struggling would have made you reject it... or would have hurt you. It now understands how much of a toll it has taken on you in the past..."

"Yes, I see it now," Eddie sighed. "We were both worried, didn't we, darling..."

_**i am sorry. i won't keep things away from you again.** _

_It's alright, we will work on it. It's a work in progress, this life we want to build together, isn't it?_

The Symbiote tilted its head, looking at him.

_**as long as we work together** _

"As long as we do, we'll manage. Can't promise it will be easy, but I promise I will never give up." Eddie brought his attention on Flash again "Are you really fine with this? I thought you were ready to fight for it..."

"And I would, if there was reason to. But I think it has made its decision clear, and I guess a good friend would support it." Flash smiled at the Symbiote, who screeched softly. "I hope I can be a friend to you too, Eddie," he added.

Eddie found himself choked by emotion, suddenly. He had got so used to think of him and his other as alone against the whole world... Flash's kind words and smile were unexpectedly moving. He swallowed, hard, and looked away. "If you don't snitch to the FBI or the Spider about my whereabouts, for starters..."

“Cross my heart.”

“Good bluff, by the way.”

"Thanks. Also, as a good friend I got to tell you,” Flash added, talking to the Symbiote now. “You'll need to work super-hard on this bond. Buddy, do you have any idea what Tarna would say about all this? She would never let you hear the end of it!"

“Tarna who?” Eddie asked and then made a face at the image the Symbiote immediately showed in his mind of some very disgruntled looking Klyntar and host. "Anyway, if you plan to train us or whatever, I assure you we are more than trained already..."

_**i think he is right** _

_...yes, i think that too..._

"...but I guess we could take some advice. We still have my other's illness to deal with..."

"Yes, and we will. I need more details on the medicine you are taking and..." Flash glanced at his watch, then he looked around. The sunlight had been slowly dimming, and soon enough inside the diner it would have been too dark to see. "Look, why don't you come by my place for dinner? So we can discuss everything." He stood up. "Seriously, let's leave this freaky place. I can do some grocery shopping, make one of its favorite dishes..." He looked at Eddie, who was watching him at a loss. "What is it?"

"You are...” Eddie trailed off, then he shook his head. “Nothing. We'll come.” The easiness with which he said that didn't even surprise him much anymore. “I just wasn't expecting things to take this turn."

"Me neither." Flash grinned. "But you know... being in the army, traveling through space, fighting cosmic menaces... those kind of things teach you to be prepared for all outcomes." He laughed.

Eddie felt himself starting to grin as he stood up. The Symbiote's happiness at being together, all three of them in that case, was a warm pulse in their bond.

"Space adventures, uh? I really need the two of you to tell me more."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that the part set in Eddie's and the Symbiote's mind was not too unclear to follow ^^;  
> Just wanted to add that being temporarily connected to Flash is already starting the chemical reaction that will eventually balance Eddie's and the Symbiote's metabolism, as seen after Venom Inc.
> 
> I have written a short coda for this, maybe I'll add it as a third chapter?
> 
> Thank you for the comments!!


	3. Coda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still mantaining the Venom Inc. timeline as a reference, this would be set a few days after it concludes (though Eddie and Flash being in good terms would have the events unfold quite differently).

Someone knocked on the glass.

Flash had been about to lift himself from his wheelchair to the bed. He wheeled around to face the window instead, and saw the dark figure standing against the background of city lights, covering almost the whole frame. He unlatched the window.

"Was using the door too slow?" he asked, smirking, and he backed to give his guest space to enter the room.

** eddie is sleeping _,_ ** Venom said. **it's only me speaking.**

"Oh?"

**told eddie i needed to talk to you about something and he said i should wake him later.** Venom frowned. **would be alright to me if he listened but he said it was good to have privacy.**

"I think that's a good call. So, what did you wanted to speak about?"

Venom crouched down in front of him.

**wanted to say i was sorry.**

"For what?"

** for leaving. **

Flash shook his head, smiling.

"Buddy, you already apologized, and anyway it wasn't your fault. We were under an unexpected attack, and I wasn't ready to deal with it either. I could have anchored you better... but we can't waste time with ifs and buts, now. Things went like they did, and everything worked out in the end. That's it."

**i am also sorry for other things. i have been thinking a lot. i never told you.** He looked up to Flash, eyes wide. **i am sorry for hurting you in the past.**

Flash leaned back a little. "That... is done and gone as well. We all make mistakes, and you know well enough about mine too."

** yes and i have tried to use them to hurt you and then you came to my help all the same. **

"You made me face both my mistakes and my fears. Well..." he chuckled, a little wistfully. "I am pretty sure no therapist would _ever_ recommend an alien mind meld as a way to face one's inner demons... but that's what happened and we both have to live with it. With our errors and with what we have learnt from them."

** learnt to be better. i will. for eddie. and for you. **

Flash leaned forward, and placed his hand on Venom's shoulder, smiling warmly.

"Then we are already on the right path."

Venom placed his clawed hand over Flash's, enveloping it completely.

** if after we were reunited i had asked eddie to bring me back to you he would have. i know it. even if he didn't want to... **

"Hey, you don't need to convince me Eddie is a good man. I know he is, and I know you will be good together, and a great team. You will protect those who need it."

** thank you. for believing in us. **

Venom let go of Flash's hand and looked at him pensively.

** there is another thing but... i think i need to talk to eddie first. then we will tell you. **

"Ok, now you got me curious."

** soon. i promise. **

And with that the Symbiote pulled back, unveiling Eddie's face, and then withdrew completely. Eddie blinked a few times, squinting against the light, then he looked up to see Flash grinning at the almost naked man kneeling down in his bedroom.

"...I thought my other would have brought us back home before waking me up. Otherwise I would have put on a shirt. Or a pair of jeans at least," Eddie said as he stood up, caught between feeling embarrassed and feeling amused.

"I'm glad to say hello."

"Hi,” Eddie smiled. “So, have the two of you talked?"

"Yes. Do you know what was that about?"

"I have a hunch. I know my other has been feeling bad for what has happened between it and you..."

"It's all good."

"Yeah." He gave Flash a long look. "I really need to thank you. For what you did for it in the past, and for what you are doing now for both of us. It must not be easy, and you have been... Me and my other have survived a lot together, but i am not sure where we would be now without your help."

"I am really liking that tonight's theme is 'let's thank Flash Thompson and tell him how awesome he is, over and over again,' but you are giving me too much credit," Flash laughed. "Honestly, I'm just glad to see the two of you are well. And since there's never a shortage of disasters just waiting to happen, it's nice to have someone as strong as Venom as an ally."

Eddie chuckled too. He then looked away to the side, listening to the voice only he could hear. "Oh, so now you need to talk in private to me too? Alright..." The Symbiote's wrapped around his body again, leaving only his face exposed. He gave Flash a nod. "Looks like we have to go home. Hope to talk to you again soon."

"I hope that too. Coffee, one of these days?"

"I would very much appreciate that." Now whole, Venom grinned his wide fanged grin at him, then he climbed out of the window, and jumped, throwing out the webbing to cling to the building on the other side of the street. Flash watched him go, a smile still on his lips.

Yes. It was good to have Venom as an ally, and a friend.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what does the Symbiote want to talk to Eddie about? :)


End file.
